An Unbreakable Bond
by SmashingPandas
Summary: *ONE SHOT (first)* Marco and Adam have been partners since their birth in Sandgem Town, but can they rise to their fated challenge? Can Marco overcome his fears, and fight along side his faithful Lucario, deceiving companion, and maybe a crazed lunatic, known for evil? * All original Pokémon characters/species belong to creators of Pokémon*


_There are many realms in this Pokémon universe, all with different combinations of creature versus human, each having a copy of every person from the original realm, fated to never meet their counterparts._

_In the most common thought of realm, a human can train numerous Pokémon for many things like pageants, jobs, and battling. In other realms, there are no humans, and the Pokémon have their own human-like lives. There is even a place where there are no Pokémon existing there. However, one of the most unusual and misunderstood realms is where every human has a spirit Pokémon._

_In this world, when every human is born, their lifelong partner is hatched along with them. Not every Pokémon is like this. Most are left in the wild, while some are chosen as eggs for numerous reasons._

_Every one's Pokémon is different in one way or another. The human, and their partner, are meant to be together for as long as they can. They can feel each other's emotions and hear thoughts to communicate easily. However, if the human dies, their Pokémon does as well. If the Pokémon dies, it's human can live on._

* * *

As the morning sun rose over the horizon, only one head wasn't sleepy: Adam. Adam wasn't a normal boy, considering he wasn't a boy at all. He was a partner Pokémon, a Lucario to be exact. Every morning, he stood on the roof of his partner's house, and watched the sun rise while channelling his aura. He did this until his partner, Marco, woke up for the day. This morning, Marco climbed onto the room before his parent's woke up.

Marco wasn't the most social boy in town. To be completely honest, he wasn't social at all. He had a large extended family, whom he saw at least once a week. He went to a private school in Jubilife City, a ten minute ride from his own home in Sandgem Town, where just about every kid in his school of 400 loved each other. No one knows why he was never social at home, or in public. No one, except Adam.

"You're up early," Adam said to Marco, sitting next to him in his pajamas.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I was thinking about something all night that just couldn't let go."

Adam opened one eye, and looked over at his partner. His black shaggy hair was swaying back and forth slightly from the morning breeze. The small dark rims around his dark brown eyes proved that he didn't get any sleep. However, there was a small glint in his eyes that day, a glint that told Adam that Marco had a big idea in his head. Marco yawned, and laid down on the slightly slanted roof top. Adam smiled, and closed his open eye.

"What do you have in mind?" Marco was silent for a few minutes. He was looking down in his lap, worried about what could happen because of his idea. He sighed again, and looked at Adam.

"We should travel around Sinnoh," he said. That broke Adam's focus enough to get him to look straight into his eyes.

"Why would we do that? What's out there for us to see?"

"Exactly. I wanna know what's out there. I've been having this feeling that something is waiting for us on the other side of this region, maybe beyond that." Adam sighed, and gave up his trying to refocus on his aura. He jumped off the roof, landing perfectly on his feet in the front yard. Marco slid down, and landed on his feet as well.

"What if there isn't anything out there?" Adam asked, walking to the front door.

"Then we'll come home and never leave this city again," Marco replied, holding the door open. Adam thanked him, and walked inside, followed by Marco. They sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Marco's parents to wake up.

"Well, your parent's aren't too keen on you traveling on your own like that."

"You're gonna be with me, stupid," Marco said. Adam chuckled, and finally nodded.

"Alright, let's go on an adventure." Marco smiled, grabbed a hand full of Oran berries from the basket on the center of the table, and popped them into his mouth. He heard the stairs creak in a rhythmic fashion, like someone was walking to the rhythm of a children's song. Down the hall came Marco's mother's partner, Suzy, who happened to be a Chansey.

Marco and Adam waved hello as Suzy nodded good morning. She put on a pot of a Chesto-Sitrus blend coffee. Not more than ten minutes after Suzy came down, Marco's parents followed, groggy and wanting to go back to bed. Marco's mother, Lena, got the pot of coffee first, downing almost a quarter of it in three minutes. His father, Robert, followed by his partner, Eric the Munchlax, went straight for the fridge.

"Morning," Marco and Adam said in unison. The parents nodded in hello as they sat down. Robert took out some day old fruit salad, and Lena stuck with the coffee. Suzy and Eric were taking plates of the fruit salad as Robert took bowls of it.

"What do you have planned for today?" Marco asked his parents.

"Well, you and Adam are going to be home alone this summer. I picked up an extra shift at the hospital for Suzy and I," his mother said, sipping coffee constantly.

"Eric and I will be doing some back up work with a construction company my buddy owns. He says he'll pay me as much as my job at the office," Robert said. His previous job was a stereotypical cubical job at a local bank firm. This job would be better for him considering he could bring his partner. Adam and Marco looked at each other, then at the pair of sleep ridden adults.

"We have an announcement," Marco said. Lena and Robert looked at each other curiously, then back at their son. Before Marco ruined their chance by saying something bad, he took the floor.

"Marco and I have been thinking about the purpose of having Pokémon partners," he said, trying to act mature. "They're to protect their humans, am I right? This accounts for the biggest of-"

"We want to travel across Sinnoh," Marco blurted out. Adam glared at him, shaking his head. Lena almost spit out her coffee, and Robert kind of chocked on his fruit. Suzy and Eric's eyes widened, mentally telling Adam how bad of an idea that was.

"Honey," Lena said. "Why on earth would you want to travel that far?"

"Because I'm sick of being stuck in this town. I want to live, and get out and see new things and meet new people-" Robert interrupted his son.

"Marco, you've barely talked to anyone in your whole life besides Adam. What makes you think you could befriend strangers somewhere else when you won't talk to anyone in your own town?" Lena smacked her husband's arm, and he asked what it was for. Marco sighed, got up, and walked to his room. Adam, feeling what Marco was, quickly followed. When Adam reached the top of the stairs, he heard Marco's bedroom door slam shut.

"Marco," he asked, knocking on the door. "Open up, we need to talk."

"No thanks," Marco replied. "I'm too antisocial." Adam sighed, feeling how hard Marco was taking this. He felt his own understanding of what Robert said, but also feeling the hurt from his partner. Sure, what his father said was mostly true, but Adam felt the real reason why Marco wanted to go on this trip: to make a friend. Adam knew that it was possible. Marco's parents had forgot that in order for a Riolu to evolve into a Lucario, it needs to befriend it's trainer, and be happy. He also remembered why Marco had stopped talking to people in the first place.

When Marco was in Kindergarden, he had a few good friends. Back in the day, it was the coolest thing to have evolved partners. In order to evolve, they could either use a stone, or needed to have a level of protection for their human counterpart. If they didn't trust their human, or didn't have a reason to protect them, they couldn't grow. Adam was different, needing happiness and friendliness.

Adam didn't like Marco in the beginning because of being split up from his original Pokémon family. For a reason undisclosed to only Adam and Marco, he didn't like humans. When he was taken into the hospital for pairing, he tried and tried to get home, but never did. He refused to trust Marco, and this put a damper on his reputation at school. When the class did something with their partners, Adam refused to. This embarrassed Marco, and gave the crowd of five and six year olds a target to pick on. Never mind Adam being the only Pokémon there who could talk to people, instead of only through thoughts and emotions. Marco was labeled for the rest of his life as "The Kid With No Real Partner," and Adam regrets it everyday he lives. Marco has always said it's okay, but he knows and felt how much hurt and pain Marco never told anyone. This is why Marco refuses to trust anyone, never mind befriending them.

"Dude, did you sit out here the whole time?" Marco asked, opening the door. It had been almost six hours since he closed the door on Adam. Marco sat next to Adam, against his door.

"Yeah, why?"

"Aren't you hungry?" Adam nodded, looking at Marco in the eyes, looking deeper into his aura. "Why did you sit here all day?"

"I'm your partner, _and _your best friend. I'm not gonna ditch you like this," he said. Marco couldn't help but smile, and push Adam's smiling face away like a brother would. They chuckled, and sat in those very spots until Marco's parents got home late, around nine at night.

They both got home around the same time, out of breath. Robert was drenched in sweat, and Eric was crawling into the house, begging for food, like always. Lena and Suzy were just as tired from dealing with broken bones and massive blood loss problems. Marco stopped them in the hallway upstairs to ask about his previous request.

"Marco, can't this wait until tomorrow?" Lena asked.

"No, mom, it can't. We _need_ to go on this trip. I'm seventeen already, I can handle myself if Adam and I get separated. Other than that, we can protect each other like we would anywhere else," he said.

"Your mother and I have already agreed on this, Marco. You're not traveling the whole region with only your Pokémon and a wallet full of money!" Robert said, almost ready to rage.

"Why? Because _you_ think I'm antisocial?"

"Marco, I think we should drop it," Adam said quietly. Marco ignored him, and kept standing off with his parents.

"Do you even know how good this will be for us? We can finally learn how to be on our own!" Lena watched her son and her husband bark at each other for a good fifteen minutes before snapping.

"Okay, you know what? Maybe this will be good for them, Robert."

"What," the three boys asked in unison, and disbelief. Lena walked up to her son, and grabbed his shoulders.

"If you promise me to call us everyday, and to stay safe and well fed and warm at night and-"

"Mom, we'll be perfectly fine, trust me." Lena rolled her eyes.

"Promise me that, and you can travel as much as you want. We'll give you some starting money, but nothing more than that. You'll have to make some on your own as well." Marco and Adam smiled as wide as they could, and hugged Lena, almost squishing her.

"We'll be super safe, promise!" Adam said. The two boys rushed into Marco's room, and started packing. Robert looked at Lena, arms crossed.

"Why, Lena? You know he's not gonna make it."

"Well, it'll be good for them, especially Marco. Maybe he'll learn to be social with people," she said, walking into their bedroom, followed by Roger.

In Marco's room, they were frantically packing for their adventure. All Adam was doing was folding clothes Marco threw out of his drawers. They were talking about routes to take, and strategies for training. Each of them wanted to get stronger, physically and mentally, on this journey. That was the real reason for going, not to become more sociable or to see the world. If his parents knew that, they definitely wouldn't let him go.

The boys were all packed by ten o'clock that night. Marco wanted to travel light, knowing there would be _a lot_ of walking. He only had his backpack for a second change of clothes, food, and water bottles for Adam and himself. He had his wallet in his back pocket, filled with one hundred Pokédollars of his parents' money.

Marco himself was wearing a dark blue baseball cap, lowered enough to hide his eyes; as if his dark brown bangs didn't do that already. He wore a blue zip up hoodie with white on the shoulders and pockets, just heavy enough to keep the cool night breeze away. His navy blue jean pants would also keep him warm enough at night, but cool enough during the day. He finished his training look with a pair of black high tops with white tips. However, the jeans covered most of his shoes anyway.

His mother was impressed at how fast they put themselves together, and passed her travel check list. His father wasn't too ecstatic about his son and his partner going out into the world, not knowing how to even talk to people.

"Now, sweetie," Lena said, flattening out the bumps in her son's hoodie and fiddling with his hat. "Don't forget to-" Marco grabbed her hands, and smiled.

"Mom, we'll be fine, promise," he said, fixing what his mom messed with. Lena's eyes were filled with tears, not wanting to let go of her baby boy. Roger was still upset, and upstairs. "Where's dad?"

"Um, he's still a bit upset. He'll be down soon," she said, smiling a fake smile. Marco nodded, recognizing the smile. He knew that the last time he would see his father was when they were fighting. Adam picked this up, and patted his back, reassuring him.

It took a good half hour for Marco and Adam to calm Lena down. Roger never came back down, and Marco knew he wouldn't. Lena tried to persuade them to stay the night, but Marco wanted to leave as soon as they could. They walked out the door, into the night.

* * *

"Gah! These things are _everywhere_!" Marco yelled as him and Adam swatted away a whole colony of Zubats. He had disrupted them when he was looking for berries and a place to sleep for the night. It was around midnight, and they had walked about four miles from their busy city home. Adam was shooting balls of aura at groups of them, while Marco was swatting them away.

"We should run," Adam said, fighting the angry ones off.

"They'll just follow us," Marco answered. Eventually, they all flew away from the force of Adam's own aura. The boys breathed a sigh of relief, and sat against the tree. "We'll just camp out here until morning."

Adam nodded, and closed his eyes. He never liked to sleep laying down, so he did sitting up. Marco used his backpack as a pillow, and put his cap over his face. They slept soundly, for about three hours.

Marco was awoken by the sound of Adam fighting another Pokémon. He jumped a mile out of his skin when something small and furry jumped in his lap. Adam's Bone Rush attack hit right above his partner's head. The small fuzzy thing in Marco's lap lit up like a match, revealing it's puppy-like form, but still hiding it's face and fur features. It jumped out of his lap, leaving a small flame on his knee.

"Oh shit!" Marco yelled, trying to put it out. He got the flame to die as the little pyro puppy jumped onto Adam's head, growling and barking. Adam growled at the dog, and tried to throw him off.

"Stop!" A voice emerged from the darkness down the trail to the next city. Both Marco and Adam looked into the void as the fire dog ran into the dark, illuminating the area around it. Then, the boys heard a girl's giggle, and the happy bark of the dog.

From out of the darkness, the two partners saw a silhouette of a girl, who had to be holding the dog. She walked up to Marco, who had a burn hole in his jeans big enough to see his knee. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a high pony tail, with a pair of black-fade-blue sunglasses resting on her head high enough to let her bangs hang down over her right eye. Her eyes were chocolate brown, with what looked to be gold flecks in the light glow of her Pokémon. She was wearing a gray hoodie without sleeves that had a pokéball on the front. Her jeans were short shorts that had cut off edges, along with a black belt going across her waist on a slant. She had shoes that looked just like his, but went all the way up to her knees. Her whole look screamed outrageous and social; the exact opposite of Marco's.

"Thank you so much for catching him. It's not like my partner here to just run off and jump on people," she said. Marco just stared at her, not knowing what to say, and partially stunned by how she looked and sounded. Adam sighed, and elbowed him in the side. He jumped, and glared at Adam.

"Um, it's fine," he was able to get out. Adam rubbed his eyes, looking down. The girl smiled, holding her dog. "What kind is he?"

"Knightly is a Growlithe," she said. "They're pretty rare 'round these places. There's a bunch of 'em where I'm from. I see packs of 'em around the forest in Pewter City." Marco and Adam's mouths dropped when they heard where this girl was from.

"You're from Kanto?" Adam said. The girl's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Did he just-"

"Yeah, I can talk. Most Lucarios can't, but I've always been able to," Adam replied. The girl cautiously nodded. "So, why are you all the way in Sinnoh?"

"I wanna get stronger with Kingly, and maybe get my hands on a fire stone," she said with a southern accent. The girl started giggling, and her partner, Knightly, smiled. She held out her hand, wanting Marco to return the gesture. "I'm Alison, by the way. Just call me Sall."

"Marco," he said quietly, shaking her head. She giggled, and put Knightly down.

"You're real quiet like, aren't cha?" Marco's face flushed red, and nodded. He tried not to talk to much, knowing he would attach to the girl, resulting in another traumatic experience. "Geez, Knightly yaps more than you do." As if on cue, her partner barked at her. She shushed him, and picked him up. "Where ya headed?"

"We're traveling across Sinnoh," Adam answered. "Mostly for training."

"Is that so?" Sall asked, looking at Marco. He hid his face under his cap, and nodded. "Maybe you two nice lookin' boys can let Knightly and I tag along!"

The boys looked at each other, Marco looking for something to say. Adam felt the two humans' auras, and they were polar opposites of each other. Marco's was dark, quiet, and mysterious. If it were ever to come out, it would be a dark purple. Sall's was just the opposite. She was a social butterfly, not afraid of anything or anyone. She was probably more stubborn and brave than she should've been. Her aura would've shot out anyone else's being a bright, bright white.

"Sure," Adam said. Marco looked angrily at his partner, and pulled him aside.

"What are you doing," he yelled quiet enough to keep out of Sall's hearing reach.

"It'll be good for both of us," Adam whispered. "I get a Pokémon to train against, and you get a travel partner to talk to. It's a win-win situation!"

"Ya'll okay back there?" Sall interrupted. Adam walked back, and told her that she could come along. The new additions to the twosome, now more like a small pack, jumped and squealed for joy. Marco walked back, keeping his face hidden.

The sun was about to come up, so the group decided to start walking towards Oreburgh City. They'd assumed they could train in the mines, especially Adam. He wanted to see how tough rock type Pokémon really were, compared to his own fighting-steel typed self. He could feel Knightly's ambitions not residing in what Sall had told them, but he couldn't figure why, or what he really wanted. Sall was harder to read, like she had a mental wall up. Adam felt suspicious about the two, but shrugged it off.

They walked for a few hours, and resulted in getting lost in a cave system near their destination. Knightly had run off in search of a shortcut Sall had told them. They quickly followed, and even quicker, had lost their way. Marco was leading the way, lighting most of the cave with his phone, followed close by Sall. Knightly was giving off a little more light with the dim fiery glow from his lit tail. Adam was in the back of the group illuminating the way behind them with his own aura, slowing himself down a bit. However, they hadn't run into any wild Pokémon along the way.

"This is odd," Marco muttered, trying to stay quiet.

"What is?" Sall asked, making Marco jump.

"We should've seen Pokémon by now," Adam said from the back. The group stopped, and Adam sat down. Sall was going to ask what he was doing, but Marco held a hand up to quiet her.

Adam sat with his legs crossed, like he was going to meditate. He put his forepaws together, closed his eyes, and sat there. Suddenly, a blue glow appeared around the appendages coming out of his head next to his ears, and slowly crawled along his whole figure. After what felt like an hour, his eyes snapped open, glowing blue. The blue faded as he quickly stood up, looking concerned and on guard.

"Something is wrong, this cave isn't safe," he said, sending balls of aura to his forepaws.

"What do you mean it's not safe?" Marco asked, voice elevated for the first time sine Sall joined the group. She was surprised he wasn't mute or something.

Suddenly, the cave started to shake. Each of the four looked around, walking towards their own partner. Sall looked more determined to finish something than scared, as Marco and Adam slowly became to be. Knightly stood by her side, yipping at the top of the cave. Sall nodded, and turned to Marco.

"Lift me up," she demanded. Marco was taken off guard, and was going to ask what good that would do. "Just do it!"

Marco shook his head, and put his hands out. Sall used his hands as a platform, standing there. She jumped up, off of his hands, and almost flipped in the air, kicking in a hollow spot in the ceiling. She landed back on Marco's hands, and jumped into the hallow spot. Kingly ran up Adam's back, jumped onto Marco's head, and into the separate cave. Both boys stumbled back, and looked up for any sight of the two new members. After a minute or two, the shaking stopped. Marco lifted Adam up and into the opening, and he pulled his partner up to where he was. They both followed the path that led them to Sall and Knightly. Sall was bent over something, her finger to her ear, muttering quietly. As they walked closer, they could hear her talking to someone over a bluetooth.

"Listen," she said demandingly, loosing that sweet southern-belle voice. "I dismantled the damn thing. You're lucky this whole cave didn't crumble in on me... Well, it would've been fine if it was just me, you know... I'm not risking that, people would ask questions," Sall's finger left her ear, and she pet Knightly. Standing up, she turned to see the boys, and the color in her face drained.

"What was all that?" Marco asked, angry at her.

"Whatcha mean, Marco?" Sall answered with the accent reappearing. He walked up to Sall, and grabbed her collar, lifting her off the ground. Knightly jumped up at him, only to be caught by Adam.

"Cut the crap," he said. "Obviously you've been lying to us, and we don't like liars. Tell us who the hell you really are, and what you were using us for, _now_."

"Fine," she said, sighing. She quickly tore some sort of rock from her back pocket, and threw it at Knightly. He was able to squirm out of Adam's grip enough to catch it with his mouth, and quickly evolve. Adam was squished up against the wall as the little puppy grew to be numerous times as bigger than himself as an Arcanine. He was now as tall as Marco, but much, much bigger and stronger. His giant paw struck Adam, knocking and pinning him to the ground.

Distracted, Marco looked over to try to help him. In his worry, Sall kicked Marco in the stomach, crippling his grip on her. She dropped to the ground, landing on her feet, and kicked his feet out from under him. She put her foot on top of his chest as he laid on the floor, defenseless. She bent down close to his face, looking as serious as anyone could.

"You never saw me or Knightly," she said, pushing harder on his chest, making him cough. "You never walked with us, and you've never met us. If you ever see us again, you don't know us and keep on moving; and for your partner there, anyone can fake an aura identity if they've been trained to do it."

Sall got off of Marco, and walked towards the hole she made. Knightly followed her, and stopped. She climbed onto him, jumped down into the hole. Marco got up, and ran to follow them. He jumped down the hole, only to find no trace of the two. Adam jumped out of the hole soon after, doing the same thing, aura blazing. Marco sighed, and looked away from his partner.

"They're gone," he said. Adam calmed down, and walked up to his partner.

"I'm sorry, Marco. I screwed up. Her aura was like anyone else's. I thought she would help us, but-"

"Stop it," Marco said, looking down. "It's both our faults for trusting her. She was too good to be true," he slumped against the wall of the cave, looking down with his elbows on his propped up knees. Adam sat next to him, asking what he meant.

"To think that I actually started to trust someone," he muttered. "I knew it was a bad idea. This is why I don't talk to people: I get stomped on." Adam sighed, and tried to comfort him. He felt it was hard for him, and he knew Marco was starting to open up.

* * *

Out of the cave, Sall and Knightly went straight for the coast. Her rendezvous was in the forest surrounding the area. It took her almost a day and a half to get there, due to run ins with the enemy and battle envy trainers, whom she and Knightly humiliated. Throughout the whole trip, the was thinking of the boys. Not even both of them, only Marco. Knightly barked at her when she though about him, telling her that he could compromise what they were doing, and probably get them both killed along with herself. She agreed, and tried to think about her mission. When she reached the edge of the forest, she saw a man standing on the edge of a cliff. Only Sall approached him, knowing this is the man she needed to meet with.

"You came," he said without turning to face her. She noticed that he looked kind of familiar. The man had long green hair, ending at his lower back, with a black hat on his head. He wore a white collared shirt with a black one underneath, followed by gray pants, with an interesting choice of green shoes that seemed a few shades darker than his teal hair.

"Well, you had an interesting offer for me," Sall said. "How'd you find me?"

"It isn't hard for someone like me to contact your father," he said. Sall looked down, remembering who her father was. He was the reason she left.

The infamous Giovanni, Team Rocket Leader, was Sall's blood father. From a young age, he had taught her the ways of the villainous group. She grew up knowing that as the right thing, from being home schooled about it to working with grunts on missions. Her training gave her the upper hand in almost any situation, physical or mental. At age seven, she met a little girl who's Pokémon was being taken. The girl was about her age, maybe younger. Sall's conscience told her that it was okay to leave her like she was, crying and sobbing over her lost partner. However, Sall stole the stolen Pichu from the grunts at night, ran from her home with Knightly, and returned the Pokémon to the girl. From that day on, she vowed to never follow in her father's footsteps, knowing she would be the heir to Team Rocket when her father passed. Ever since then, he father had been looking for her all over the world, and Sall always managed to sneak away in tight situations.

"I consider myself a self-made orphan," she replied, keeping her face hidden beneath her bangs. "Who are you, and what do you want from me?"

"We're one in the same, Alison," the man said, turning to her. Her blood ran cold when she saw his face.

"_You_," she growled, backing up to protect Knightly. "_Prince N_, right? The bastard leader of Team Plasma!"

"Listen," N said, holding his hands up, not wanting a fight. "I'm not like I was before. My whole life, I was lied to." N told Sall his whole story, from being orphaned in the woods and raised by Pokémon to how Ghetsis lied and tricked him into thinking spirit Pokémon were only being used as barriers for protection, abused for no reason. Sall was still on edge about him, not wanting to give N her trust to play with.

"And if I don't believe you?" Sall asked. N sighed, and looked back at the ocean.

"Then I'll let you out of the mission. I wouldn't have told you all this is I wasn't being truthful, Elena would've killed me for lying."

"Who's Elena," she asked, lowering her guard slowly.

"She _was_ my partner; a beautiful Zoroark. From what I was taught, Ghetsis believed she was in pain. So I had to let her go by the hands of him." A rock dropped in Sall's stomach. She knew you couldn't release a spirit Pokémon into the wild, and they couldn't run away from their human partner. It all fit together now, why she never saw a Pokémon with him, why he wanted her to do his missions for him, why he was telling the truth.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking at him. He turned again, and walked up to her.

"That's why I need you two, Alison. You and I both want to make things right. We both were taught the wrong things to believe in. We may be the modern day leaders to what our fathers will leave us, but we can stop what they're doing. Team Rocket has already disbanded for now in Kanto and Johto, but Team Plasma is planning to invade Sinnoh, like they tried to in Unova. We can't let that happen," N said, almost begging for Sall's help.

"Okay," she said. N smiled, and walked to Knightly.

"You have a strong willed Arcanine, Alison, just like yourself. Meet me near Heathome City, and enter Kingly in the Pokémon Pageant, and win. This will make you look like a regular kid, because you look stunningly like your father. After this, walk onto Route 209, and go to the top of the Lost Tower. I will meet with you there," N explained. After he finished, he walked right back into the woods, and frankly disappeared. Sall couldn't explain it, but accepted it. She jumped up on to Knightly, and headed back to Hearthome City.

* * *

Marco and Adam have been on the road, training, for about a week now. They've lost a few times, but have won most of the battles that have popped up. They promised each other that until the go on a winning streak of over fifty, they will deem themselves strong enough to return home. Adam was pumped about training, getting stronger everyday. Marco, however, was sidetracked most of the time.

"Marco, think fast!" Adam yelled, shooting an aura sphere at his partner. He had been trying to teach Marco how to control his own aura, as well as others like he could. Thinking of something other than training, it hit him square in the stomach, blasting him back a good twenty yards. "Marco!"

"Geez, you're a lot stronger," Marco muttered, getting up and brushing dirt off him. Adam helped him up, and looked for any cuts.

"I thought you were ready," Adam said. Marco shrugged.

"Got distracted, that's all. Let's go again," he said. Adam shook his head. "What?"

"You've been distracted a lot lately. I hope this has nothing to do with-"

"No, I'm fine," Marco said sternly. Adam felt his aura was off because of her. He wanted to help, but Marco refused to talk about it. "Again."

Adam sighed, and went at him again. This time, he was ready, and was able to hold the ball of aura for a few seconds, which is an impressive improvement in just a few days. They went at this for hours, and Marco was getting the hang of it pretty quickly, which threw Adam off a bit, and Marco felt it.

"What?" Marco asked. Adam shook his head.

"Nothing, I'm just amazed at how well you're doing with this. Humans aren't meant to be able to harness aura like that." Marco shrugged, and smirked.

"I guess I'm just weird like that. Let's head to the next city for a bite to eat," he said, picking up his bag.

They walked silently for about twenty minutes, until they reached the city limits of Hearthome City. As they walked in, people stared at the two. Everyone was city ready with all sorts of technology, exotic clothes, and cutesy Pokémon with too many pageant badges to count. Marco was a simple small town boy covered in dirt, cuts, and scratches from training.

"I guess no one gave us the high quality message," Adam said, feeling the same as Marco: out of the loop.

"Let's just get a bite to eat and get outta here, I have a bad feeling," Marco replied. Adam nodded, and found a small, family owned diner. They both liked the homey feel to it. They ordered some Oran Berry pancakes, and wolfed them down in minutes. Adam looked around, and felt no suspicious auras, even though people were staring at the two boys. He looked out the window, and watched the city-goers walk towards a huge building, ready with dressed up Pokémon. He elbowed Marco's side, and they both looked out the window.

"The pageant is today," a boy said. They turned to him, and saw that he must've been the chef of the place. He was about Marco's age, probably a year or two younger. He had dark blue hair that covered his eyes a bit. He had a smock over a yellow and white T-shirt, and khaki shorts with black sandals. He was leaning on the opposite side of the counter top that the boys were sitting at. "It's a huge deal here."

"I think it's a skin-deep contest to prove who's pretty and who's not," Marco said, mouth full of pancake.

"You and me both," the boy said. He held out his hand, which Marco shook. "Henry," he said.

"Marco," he replied, and motioned to his partner. Adam had nodded in hello, thinking that they should keep his talking habit to themselves. "That's Adam."

"He's a nice looking Lucario, Marco," Henry said. Out of nowhere, a light blue duck-looking Pokémon walked out from the kitchen, and sat in front of the boys. It looked at Henry, and then at the two boys. "And this is Audrey, my partner. She's the most peaceful Golduck I've ever met."

"I've heard about those; never seen one though," Marco said, studying it. He looked at Henry, recognizing the face. "Are you sure we haven't met before?"

"Well, you probably have hear of my sister, Misty. She stayed back home to run the gym, while I moved to Sinnoh with our parents," he explained. Marco and Adam nodded, seeing the resemblance.

While Marco and Henry started to talk, Adam watched as what seemed like the whole city enter the Contest Hall. One specific person stood out for some reason. She had long, bone straight brown hair that flowed halfway down her back. She had a bright pink dress with a Spring-yellowy trip that stopped about six inches from her hips, and white flats. Her aura was bright white in Adam's mind. He almost chocked on his food when he saw the girl's Arcanine following her. Marco patted his back, asking what just happened. Adam pointed to the window, coughing on his pancakes. Marco looked over, but the girl had already entered the building.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, man," he said.

"Maybe he saw someone you two know. We should go see," Henry said. Marco shrugged.

"It wouldn't hold us up too much," he replied. The four of them had decided to go to the pageant, looking for that girl Adam saw. He didn't tell Marco that he thought he saw Sall, knowing it would reopen deep wounds, and douse it in salt and vinegar.

The three boys had to buy three tickets, since they each needed a seat. Audrey stayed back at the restaurant, keeping up with any new customers. When they had found their seats, they were sitting at the very top of the arena. Sure they were crappy seats, but they could see everything on the giant screens facing the upper seats. Adam was on edge, hoping Marco wouldn't notice who entered this pageant. The arena was plated with some sort of metal, or tile that showed a perfect, polished reflection of anyone standing on it. There were two entry halls on the opposite sides of the arena, where the contestants would enter and exit through.

Soon enough, contestants started to file into the circle arena. One by one, their names were announced, and their opening moves were on display, which they four didn't really pay any attention to. A lot of the smaller Pokémon used some cutesy move, like Charm or Attract over the heads of the crowd and the judges. The bigger ones tended to shoot some kind of attack into the air, eventually spreading sparkles or glitter into the air; all things the judges have seen before. The last contestant was unique.

"And now, our last contestant!" The host announced, pointing to the hallway in front of him.

In came an Arcanine, and Adam's nerves were on their last straws of control. He felt for Marco's aura, which didn't seem any different from before. The Arcanine walked into the center of the field, and stood there, looking at the crowd. Once everyone had quieted down, and questioned what was happening, the Pokémon stood up on his hind legs, and instantly used a Flamethrower. Out of the flames came his trainer, the girl Adam had seen. She was facing the crowd opposite of himself, which he had hoped for. The fire dissipated around her, like she was a cooling coal. She landed on her feet, waving to a ballistically applauding crowd, followed by impressed looks on the judges.

"Impressive," Henry said to Marco over the crowd. Adam sighed, and agreed, as did Marco.

The contest went on extremely slow for the boys. When the last contestant came on stage for the final combination display, the host announced their names.

"Last, but certainly not least, the two who set our hearts on _fire_, Allie and Georgie!" He yelled, motioning to the girl and her partner. She was strictly looking at the opposite crowd, like she knew Marco was there.

The girl, Allie, had stood on top of Georgie's back, looking at the crowd. Once the building fell silent, she jumped up and off of her partner. Once he felt her shoes leave his fur, Georgie hopped onto his front legs, while Allie landed, feet first, on his hind paws. He boosted her into the air, flipping. As she soared, Georgie started to use Flame Wheel, and making a fire circle around her to land in. When she landed, he started to jump and run in a circle to create a fire sphere around his partner, cloaking the arena with smoke.

The crowd was amazed, and scared for her well being. The judges were out of their chairs, with crew on hand for any accidents. When the sphere stopped, and the smoke cleared, there stood Allie, sitting on Georgie in the middle of a scorched circle in the dirt, in a completely different outfit.

She had her hair tied up into a high pony tail with a fiery red scrunchy. Her dress was now replaced with a partially see-through half shirt that faded from white at her shoulders to a bright red, ending right above her stomach. She also had red short shorts, and red high top sneakers. The crowd was screaming so loud, Adam needed to cover his ears. The judges were amazed, as was the host.

For this last round of applause, she looked directly at where the three were sitting, giving a devious smile. Marco's face drained of all it's color, and his blood ran cold.

"So much for that sweet school girl!" The host announced. "The now fiery, attitude filled Allie and Georgie!" The crowd hollered for an encore, but they two of them rode back into the contestant locker rooms, with Sall looking at Marco the whole time.

Before the results had come out, Marco ran out of the whole stadium. Henry and Adam chased after him. They found him trying to sneak into the forest behind the building. Adam pulled him out of the hedges, and onto the ground.

"I can't be here, Adam," he muttered, face hidden, tearing out of his grip. "I gotta get outta here-" Before Marco could finish, Adam slapped him in the face. Henry, Adam, and Marco were all silent, and frozen.

"Get ahold of yourself!" Adam finally yelled, pulling Marco up and on to his feet. "She's just one girl, Marco!"

Before he could finish, a huge crowd filed out of the building. Contestants left through the back exit, and Marco saw Sall and Knightly heading for Route 209. They were looking ahead, not at anything or anyone else. Marco saw this as the perfect chance. He tore out of his partner's grip, and charged.

"Marco!" Adam and Henry yelled. They chased after him to stop him, but they were too slow. He had already jumped up at Sall, knocking her right off Knightly and into the dirt. They were fighting each other, Sall to get away, and Marco to pin her down. Eventually, Marco had won.

"Help!" Sall yelled, but the crowd was gone. Knightly charged at Marco, but Adam knocked him aside, protecting his partner.

"You bitch!" Marco yelled. Sall was still pretending to be the innocent bystander.

"Who are you," she yelled in a fake panic.

"You know damn well, Sall!" Sall looked around, and chuckled.

"Found me, huh," she asked with the same tone she used in the hollowed out cave. "I'd get off before it gets ugly here, Marco."

"Who's the one on top here, Sall," he growled.

"Who got their ass kicked in that cave?" Sall said, smirking. "Look, we both have places to be, and I have a meeting I need to get to super fast, so-"

"Why did you use us," Marco screamed in her face. She turned away, and didn't speak a word. "Tell me!"

"She can't," said a calm voice ahead of them. They both looked up, and each had their own look of anger.

"I thought we were supposed to meet at the Lost Tower, N," she said, annoyed. N shrugged, eyes closed.

"You're working with _him_?" Marco asked. "You were gonna try to hurt Adam!"

"Listen, Marco," N said, walking towards them. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

While Marco was distracted, Sall kneed him in the stomach, knocking him off of her, and the wind out of his lungs. Adam ran over to his partner, asking if he was okay. Knightly ran to Sall, sniffing her for any blood. N walked to Adam and Marco, looking at the pair of boys.

"Your bond is very pure, Marco," he said. Adam growled at N, ears back. N backed up, not wanting trouble. Adam looked at his aura, and saw that it was almost complete innocence. The one part that wasn't was guilt, regret, and wanting. He could feel that N wanted to make something right. He lowered his guards, and told Marco he wasn't there to hurt anyone. Sall went to N's side, and looked at Marco.

"We need to go," she muttered to N. He shook his head, and looked at the boys.

"They can help," he said. He turned to Henry. "Go warn every city you can get to, and say that Team Plasma is coming, and that Prince N is already here." Henry looked at Adam and Marco, who told him to listen. He nodded, and ran to warn the city. "Now, we must go before anyone sees. Alison, get those two together, and meet me at the Lost Tower." Those were his last words before disappearing into the forest.

"C'mon, get up," Sall said, pulling Marco up and off the ground.

"You do know we're not going with you," Marco said darkly. "I can't even trust you with a day of walking time."

"You know he wants to make things right. Adam even felt it," she said. Adam nodded. "C'mon, the Lost Tower isn't far from here."

"Fine," Marco said. "But I keep an eye on you, and Adam keeps one of Knightly."

"Ugh, fine," Sall said, impatient. She started walking, and Marco walked right next to her, as did Adam with Knightly.

Once they were on the path of Route 209, Marco had his eyes glued on Sall, and the road in front of them. Sall was looking down, regretting everything that happened in the caves, and Adam felt it. He decided to let Marco find out on his own, knowing it would be best than having him translate everything.

"Marco," she said, looking at her almost oppressive guard. "I don't-"

"Don't say a word," he said, his face hidden under his cap. "We're getting to the tower, and hopefully I never have to speak with you again."

Sall's blood ran cold, and her heart crumbled. Adam and Knightly felt it, wanting to say something. They decided it was best to give them some time alone, and fell behind enough to keep their conversations private. Sall looked down at the ground, eyes glued to her shoes.

Marco looked at her from under his hat, and blinked away the tears that wanted to come out. He knew he hurt Sall from the minute he tackled her, and every minute on. He never wanted to hurt her, but his anger got the best of him. They walked for a half hour in silence, until they reached the Lost Tower.

The whole place had an eerie feeling to it. The four of them saw headstones with pictures of Pokémon engraved in them, along with names and dates. Then, they saw the gray tower ahead of them. The top was hidden by a disturbingly creepy fog.

"Well, N is up there," Sall muttered, still looking down. Marco nodded, and they started to walk up the tower. Adam and Knightly felt sick being around so many dead Pokémon, so they stayed behind at the front doors.

They walked up three flights of stairs, watching headstones and graves collect dust. With every floor, less and less stones appeared. They saw a few Ghastly and Haunters, but no evidence of N. Once they reached the top of the tower, they saw a figure silhouetted next to a square, lower figure. They walked towards N, watching details come into view.

"My sweet Elena," N muttered, looking at a headstone with a Zoroark engraved on the top. N stood up, and turned to see the two. He felt the tension between them, noticing Marco's unusual anger, and Sall's unusual obedience. "You two came."

"Why do you want me to help?" Marco asked, getting to the point. N smiled, and walked up to the two.

"I'll assume Alison hasn't told you why I'm here. Team Plasma is planning to invade Sinnoh, as they tried to in Unova. From inside ears, I've learned that they will be docking in Sunnyshore City, and using raw and unpredicted force to take Pokémon partners, and 'free' them," N shuddered. "We can't let that happen here, especially since so many others were lost in the battles in Unova, human _and_ Pokémon. We can't let those souls die in vain." Marco looked at Sall, and she nodded.

"He's telling the truth," she muttered. Marco looked back at N, who was waiting for his answer.

"Why the two of us," he asked before agreeing. Sure, he would help them, knowing how bad it was like to not have a partner. Adam never really acted like one until the dramatic shift in his life.

"Alison and her partner have the perfect set of skills to help me carry out this mission because of her past. I was raised by Pokémon as a child, being orphaned in the forest. I can get help from the wild ones here. You and your partner have the strongest bond I've ever felt between a human and a Pokémon, partners or not.

"The two of you, along with your partners and I, can easily destroy the ports Plasma plans to use to invade Sinnoh, and we can easily take out anyone who stands in our way."

Marco thought about this hard and well. He knew he could easily protect N and Sall with Adam by his side, giving them the edge for an attack. However, how could he trust them? Both of them, Sall and N, weren't the best people around at the time. He sighed, and nodded.

"Count us in," he said. Sall looked up at him, smiling, as did N. Marco strictly looked at N, who could easily feel the tension in the air.

"Good," he smiled. "Take your partners and move to Sunnyshore City. From my information, Team Plasma will be docking in a few days. Try to get as many people to tag along as you two can. Be careful who you trust," N said. He then walked past Marco and Sall, leaving the tower, and disappearing again. Marco and Sall met up with their partners again, who were asking about what happened.

"We need to get to Sunnyshore, fast," Marco said. "We need to get Henry." Adam asked why, and Marco gave him the quick explanation on the way back to Hearthome City. By the time they got to the city limits, a mob of city-goers was standing with their partners, all behind Henry and Audrey. It must've been most of the city.

"Geez, way to get the word out," Marco told Henry, patting his back.

"They all want to help. It took a minute or two of convincing, but I was able to get a few helpers," Henry replied, smirking. "Plus, a few of them said that they've seen N around here."

Marco nodded, and stood up on a park bench. He told everyone what was really happening, and who to trust. At first, they didn't believe that N had changed. Suddenly, Sall stood up besides Marco.

"You all would trust me, right? The girl who just kicked ass at that pageant?" Sall asked the crowed, and they all agreed. "Well, I'm helping N," she said. The crowd gasped, and started talking.

"Listen! He has changed. He wants to stop the invasion as much as well all do, probably even more! If there's anyone you can't trust, it's me," she said. Marco looked at her, confused. "If you see Team Rocket among the fight, it's because of me. My father, Giovanni, has been looking for me for years. Take them out as you would Team Plasma." Sall finished, and jumped of the bench. The crowd looked to Marco, who was still in shock.

"Yo, Marco," Henry said, snapping him out of his own world. "We're waiting for some directions."

Marco took a deep breath in, and took count of how many humans had flyable Pokémon. He sent them to Sunnyshore first, and to find N. He told them that Marco, Sall, and Henry sent them, and to wait for orders. He told all the partners with rideable land and ocean Pokémon to follow the flyers, but to gather as many recruits as they can, lead by Henry and Audrey. The faster land riders were told to take longer routes to find more fighters, and the ocean riders not to stray too far from the shore. The rest of the partner pairs were to walk along with himself. As groups were splitting up, Marco saw Sall and Knightly starting to leave. He approached them, asking what they were doing.

"I'll lead the land riders, teach them some moves that could save their lives," she said. Marco felt a sudden pit of sadness in his head when Sall said she was leaving. His anger quickly melted away after she told _everyone_ about her past, which he knew how hard that must've been. Before she could leave, he spoke up.

"I need to talk with you, Sall," he said. Her cheeks flushed a bit when he said her name, remembering her first impressions. Marco and Sall snuck away from the crowds, being monitored by Henry, and some people he appointed. They went behind the gym, which was out of ear shot for anyone they could've seen.

"What?" Sall asked, annoyed a bit. "You trust me enough to talk to me now?"

"You know I had the right to be mad, Sall," Marco said. Sall sighed, and nodded, anger leaving his body. "You could've told us you were on a mission, we would've understood."

"Yeah, right," she muttered. "The last time I told the truth like that, Knightly almost got killed. The last pair we trusted was undercover Team Rocket, looking for me. Knightly protected me, which ended in him breaking a leg, and most of his ribs. Thank Arceus we weren't far from a Pokécenter. You don't know what it's like to almost lose-"

Sall's ranting was cut off by Marco, crashing his lips onto hers. Sall's eyes widened, and her hand instinctively went up to slap the devil out of him. However, she slowly melted into the kiss, closing her eyes, and wrapping her arms around Marco's neck. Marco followed suit, wrapping his arms around her waist, keeping her as close as he could. When he straightened his posture for a more relaxed kiss, he lifted Sall off of her feet, literally, by a few inches. They quickly broke apart, Marco putting Sall back on the ground, but kept their faces close, and their arms around each other.

"I never wanted to leave," she muttered, looking away from him. "I had to, or else you could've gotten hurt."

"You don't know how much I don't want you to leave with the others," Marco replied, just as quiet, tightening his grip around her waist.

"I have to," she replied. "They need at least _one_ person who knows what they're doing." The two chuckled, and let go of each other. Sall's smiled quickly turned to a worried glance, as did Marco's soon after. "Be safe, Marco."

"I will if you will," he said. Sall smiled, and nodded. She started to walk back to her assigned group, and to find Knightly. As Marco watched her leave, he thought about what he just did. He looked down at his hands, and smiled, realizing she was back in his life. He looked up again, and his smile faded. She was already gone. Marco sighed, and walked back to Henry and Adam. When Adam saw him, he could feel something happened, since his aura was in a literal tizzy.

"Let's get going," Marco said. He looked at Henry, who had everyone following them in line and order. He looked at Adam, who was at the ready. Marco smiled, and led the group forward.

* * *

N, awaiting a smaller group of battalions, was standing at the edge of the coast. It has been about four days since he left Marco and Sall to themselves to create an army. He had _many_ wild Pokémon waiting for instructions. He had persuaded ocean, sky, and land dwelling creatures to help him, and just about everything in between.

He could see ships on the horizon, growing bigger extremely fast. He easily recognized them as Team Plasma barges, loaded with grunts, and weapons of their own. N sighed, and looked back at the city. He thought about what would happen if they lost.

Before he could think of anything more, he saw groups of Pokémon flying through the sky, and landing. He noticed that each of them were being ridden by their partners. In a flash, a huge group was surrounding N.

"Marco sent us," one said. Each of them started to retell the story, as if they thought N didn't believe them. He smirked, and turned to the ocean. He, again, found groups of humans and their partners, riding onto the shore. That whole group told the same story.

Shortly after, N saw an even larger group of partners come down Route 222, led by Marco. N smiled, and waited for the group to reach the others. Marco approached him, and motioned to his brigade.

"Not bad, huh?" Marco asked. N chuckled, and agreed. "Sall should be here soon with more recruits."

"You did very well, Marco, much better than I expected."

"Well," Henry cut in as he walked onto the shore from the ocean with Audrey. "People were more opt to go and fight than I thought." Marco and N smiled, but they quickly faded. Marco looked out to the open ocean, and saw the army start to flood in.

"I'll assume that's them," he said, N nodding. Marco turned to his self made army, and yelled for all to hear. "Well, we know how to kick all kinds of ass, don't we?" The whole bay shook with screams of agreement. Everyone was ready to fight, and to fight until the end.

"N, what do you plan on doing?" Henry asked. He looked at the ocean, focusing on the boats.

"Don't worry about me, I have my own plan," he answered. Marco nodded, and kept looking for Sall. He hasn't seen any sign of her since she left.

Marco started to think about what happened that day. He had no idea what came over him, to do such a thing. If he was back home, he'd never do that to anyone. He came to realize that he wasn't the boy he was when he left home. Throughout his adventures, he and Adam had grown so much closer together, as well as growing close with people they've met.

Suddenly, the ocean mob Henry assembled started a commotion. Marco and N looked at what was wrong, and Team Plasma was getting ready to dock. They saw the small army, and sent grunts with water-dwelling Pokémon into the ocean to clear a path. A fight started too quickly to describe, which turned into an all out brawl in minutes. Flyers started to dive-bomb the boats, wrecking all they could. Grunts kept filing out from the cargo holders in the boat, and easily started to out number the first two fronts Marco sent out. While that part of his brigade already had handfuls of Plasma to deal with, they started to dock.

"Ready?" Marco asked Adam, looking at him.

Adam nodded, and they rushed into the mob of grunts, a whole city's worth of people and partners behind them. The grunt army quickly grew, however. At this point, it was more like for every human, there were two grunts. However, there seemed to be a lack of Pokémon in the fight. N noticed this, and quickly boarded the the ship, somehow without detection.

Sneaking around every corner, like he knew the ship like the back of his hand, N looked for his own target. He knew that Ghetsis would be on this ship. He could never miss a chance to take something over for himself. Knowing that it would mean facing his past, N needed to do something. He understood how well Marco and Adam blended together as one force, but there would be nothing they could do if Ghetsis got away this time.

"Adam, remember what we were training with," Marco yelled to his partner over the fighting, pausing to take down a grunt of two, as did Adam.

"No, Marco!" Adam said, pushing Krookodiles and Liepards away from him and surrounding fighters, shooting his aura anywhere he could do damage to Team Plasma. "We haven't perfected that yet!"

"If we don't try, it'll be too late!" Marco yelled back, throwing punches at grunts all around him. Adam sighed, and took the chance.

He walked to Marco, back to back. While on guard, Adam channeled his aura, and started to send it right through his body, and into Marco's. It felt like a knife going right through his body, piercing his core. However, something happened inside Marco that even Adam couldn't have seen coming. Marco's own aura started to swirl and blend with Adam's, creating one whole aura, one combined force. The purple substance started to glow around the two boys, catching everyone's attention.

Suddenly, the purple glow stretched out, and surrounded Team Plasma's grunts, and remaining Pokémon partners. As the aura stretched around the battle field, Adam could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. He tried to tell Marco he was going to break the bond, but he didn't have the energy to speak. Adam felt a surge in power coming from Marco. He realized that his partner's aura was taking control. Adam was ready to fall over, but Marco grabbed his forepaws.

_I'm not letting you go, _Marco thought. Adam picked this up, and smiled. He refocused himself, matching his own aura's power with Marco's. The grunts and their partners' energy was slowly being drained, and transferred into Adam and Marco. Their eyes weren't glowing anymore, but opaque purple now. N felt this surge of power coming from them, and rushed to the top of the main Plasma barge. He watched the amazing power coming from the two boys, amazed at how a human could do so much with his aura. However, N could feel Marco starting to burn himself out. The aura around the grunts started to fade, and their strength was returning.

From the top of the barge, N could see a mob of humans and Pokémon running towards the fight, led by Sall. N could feel her worry for Marco, and how it skyrocketed when she saw what was happening.

Sall jumped off of Knightly, and ran right into the fight, followed by her crowd of fighters. This last ditch effort was what they needed to win. Adam felt her real aura blazing, all about worry for Marco. Adam's own aura was blazing out, and he broke the bond before he'd end up killing himself. He collapsed, breathing hard. However, Marco was still holding up his own aura.

"Marco!" Adam and Sall said in unison. He didn't turn, being consumed by his own power. Sall ran up to him, but there was the force of his aura keeping anything and anyone away.

"Relax, Marco!" Sall yelled, trying to get into his head. He didn't respond, and his aura was burning. Holes started to burn into the visible aura around him.

Sall took this chance, and jumped through. She tackled Marco to the ground, knocking him out of his daze. She shook him by his shoulders, begging him to wake up.

"Marco! Wake up, Marco," she yelled. Marco didn't move, and Adam was slowly falling unconscious. N felt Marco's aura slowly disappear. He watched as Team Plasma retreated. N needed to make a decision: find Ghetsis and end all of this, or return and help bring Marco back. N sighed, and quickly found an emergency route off the barge.

Once the fighting died down, Marco's army surrounded him and Sall. Adam was able to push through, and try to wake him up. N appeared in the mob, and walked to Sall. He put a hand on her shoulder, looking at Marco. She looked up, tears in her eyes. N shook his head, and looked back at the retreating Plasma army.

"He burned out his own aura," he muttered. Sall looked at him, begging for a better answer. She looked at Adam, and he nodded, tears forming in his yellow eyes.

"Once your aura is gone," he said, pausing to pull himself together as much as he could. "You're body is only a shell."

"No!" Sall screamed. She looked at Marco, tears streaming down her face. 'I swear to Arceus, Marco, if you don't wake up, I'll kill you!" Sall started to sob, as did Adam. However, N wore a look of confusion.

"He isn't dead yet," N muttered, kneeling down.

"What?" Sall said, rubbing her eyes.

"If he was dead, Adam would be too," he replied, feeling for a pulse. "Feel for any small bit of aura, Adam."

The Lucario nodded, and started to meditate, tears streaming down his face. His blue aura slowly crawled around him, as did bits of purple. He felt for any sort of energy coming from Marco. He dug deeper and deeper into his inner self, only finding emptiness.

However, just as he was about to give up, Adam felt a spark. He looked as deep as his own efforts would let him, and felt the spark again. This spark was like small firecrackers, trying to make a huge boom. Adam then realized that there was aura left, and it wasn't completely Marco's. During their struggle, their auras bonded. Therefore, they had mixed to become one. Marco had bits and pieces of Adam's aura mixed into his body, which kept him ever so slightly alive. Adam had bits of Marco within himself, as well. His eyes snapped open, and he broke out of his meditation.

"Get him to a hospital, now!" Adam screamed, frantically trying to feel for another spark. If he could somehow funnel his own aura into Marco, he could jumpstart his own, like one would with a car. He put his forepaws on Marco's chest, over his heart, and waited for the spark. As soon as it came, he forced aura into his partner.

* * *

Marco's eyes opened, and he was almost blinded from the fluorescent lights above him. A mass of people and Pokémon were standing outside his room. No one seemed to notice, too worried about what could happen. He quickly looked around, and saw only Sall standing in his room, looking out the windows next to his hospital bed. He smirked, seeing her face stained with tears.

"How'd we do?" Marco asked, making Sall jump a mile out of her skin. She looked right back, and almost tackled Marco out of his bed. She hugged him as hard as she could, never wanting to let go, and sobbing into his bare chest, which was wrapped up in ace bandages.

"Don't you ever scare us again!" Sall yelled through her sobs. Marco, almost awkwardly, put a hand on her head.

"Geez, calm down," he muttered. "I'm fine. Where's Adam?" Sall was able to pull herself together enough to answer in lengthy sentences again.

"He's getting patched up," she replied, rubbing her eyes. "He had some flesh wounds from the freaking aura ball you made."

Marco looked at her, confused. He had no recollection of what happened after Team Plasma docked. He had no idea he had done the impossible, channeling and using _human_ aura to his willingness. Sall told him the whole story, which she heard most from N. She told him what he saw, then when she came into the fight, and how he collapsed and gave everyone heart attacks. Marco listened to every bit of the story, trying to comprehend what he did.

"... The only reason why you _and_ Adam aren't dead is because your auras mixed when you tried to use them against Team Plasma. You had his in you, and vice versa. He was able to bring you back," she finished, leaving Marco in disbelief.

He looked at his bandaged self, realizing he was here because of his partner. He was _alive_ because of Adam. He chuckled, knowing he owed him big time.

"I guess this is going into history books, huh," a voice asked from across the room. Adam stood in the door way, on crutch-like things. He had his right leg bandaged up, as was his stomach and chest. Marco smiled, and did his best to walk over to his best friend, stumbling from sore legs and hospital meds. The two hugged as well as they could, talking about how lucky they were to have each other. Marco then looked at Sall, curious.

"Where's N?" Sall shrugged.

"I have no idea," she replied. "The last time anyone saw him was as we were taking you to the hospital. He just disappeared after that." Marco smiled, and looked out the window.

"I'll assume he has a tendency to do that," he said, sitting down on his bed. Sall sat next to him, putting a hand on his leg. Marco pulled Sall into a hug, and just sat there. She tried to hug back, but Marco had her whole body in his grasp, arms and all, not planning to let go anytime soon.

* * *

N looked to the ocean through a small window in the cargo hold of the largest barge from Team Plasma's brigade. He was determined to stop Ghetsis from returning to torturing others and their partners. He was lucky to find a pod of Mantine passing through, which he used for a ride to the barges. When the ship docked back in Unova, N planned to storm on Ghetsis, and knew he'd stop him before he formed another plan to invade another land.

He vowed to himself that no other human would go through the pain of losing his partner to Team Plasma like he did. N would die trying to protect all Pokémon from Ghetsis, knowing he does as much as he can.

* * *

**Author's Note: UGH took me like, a week to write XP Oh well :3 Like I said on my DA profile a week ago, this was a thing I wrote in my week absence since I was at my beach house in Rhode Island, and there is ****_NO _****internet access. So red, review, and enjoy my first, and long, one-shot!**

**~ Nicole 3**


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